Another in a long string of Donna Leon's very readable tales of her Venetian detective, Commissario Brunetti, one of which won her the CWA Silver Dagger in the year 2000.
This being the first Brunetti I've read, I was struck by the similarity to Simenon's Maigret and kept having a mental image of Rupert Davies striding over canal bridges. Brunetti is a calm, thoughtful family man, quietly suffering two teen-age kids and has a formidable wife, Paola, who is a part-time lecturer in English literature. The picture of Brunetti as the Italian Maigret is reinforced by frequent descriptions of him coming home to lunch or dinner and what she has cooked for him, as well as his popping into bars for a coffe or small glass of something and a chat with an informant friend - all very Parisian.
In this story, one of Paolo's girl students seeks advice on how to get a posthumous pardon for her grandfather, who died in a mental hospital after being incarcerated after the war for rackets run under the Fascists. Then she is found stabbed to death and Brunetti investigates, seemingly more from curiosity and his wife's desire, than from any offical duty. The trail uncovers an unsavory catalogue of extortion and corruption during the war, mainly concerning art treasures belonging to Jews and others escaping from persecution. The grandfather's aged Austrian ex-mistress, the benefactor of the girl, is later found dead and it takes Brunetti's inquisitive skills to fathom out the reasons. When describing the Commissarrio's wanderings,the author - who lives in Venice herself - gives a highly detailed account of the topography of that unusual city, which is perhaps rather wasted on the majority of us who know only the main tourist features. More interestingly, she also offers some pithy comments on Italian bureaucracy, which seemes riddled with bribery and corruption as an accepted way of life.
A thoughtful, satisfying book, with many contemplative asides, such as the aquisitive, materialistic outlook of modern youth, at the expense of artistic and literary awareness.